Independence Day
by Cracklingllamas
Summary: After a fourth of july party, Lanie and Beckett come up with a plan to get Beckett in the Hamptons with Castle.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hmmm sooo I wrote this for the 4**__**th**__** :) aannnddd I know its getting posted a day late, but I wrote it on the fourth, and just didn't have access to a computer…so its getting posted now :)**_

_**Hmm…well it was typed on my ipod…and I tried to go through and check for mistakes and stuff, but if I missed stuff…sorry about that. :) Aannddd this is my first Castle fic, so if the characters are kinda out of character and stuff…sorry :)**_

_**Aannnddd no castle stuff or anything is minee…. (Although I really wish it were…) :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Richard Castle sat on the beach of his summer home, watching the large and impressive fireworks going off on the ocean waters in front of him. Gina sat next to him, curled up into his side and blabbering about nonsense stories that he, frankly, just didn't care about

"Richard...are you listening to anything I'm saying?" she asked him impatiently. Her voice broke him from his trance, and he looked down at her, plastering a fake smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, Gina...I was just too focused on the show." He told her, before dropping his smile and turning back to face the water. Little did Gina know that his attention was more so taken not by the fireworks...but by a certain female detective who was, undoubtedly, spending her Independence Day with that idiot Schle...er, Demming.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

NYPD Detective Katherine Beckett was sitting on the edge of her desk, staring at the packed murder board sitting in the abandoned precinct. She tried not to listen to the booming fireworks just outside the window... Tried not to think about all her friends and colleagues having a Fourth of July party at the Captains house. She desperately tried to keep her thoughts from drifting to him. How he was at his impressive beach house...alone...with, of all people, his ex wife.

A shrill ringing was brought to her attention, and she felt her stomach drop and her breath catch in her throat. It was silly, immature, and pathetic how she reacted every time her cell phone lit up. He had no reason to call...it's not like he would be lonely...not with her there.

The color returned to her face and she started taking normal breaths again when she saw the caller id.

"Beckett." She half sighed into the receiver.

"Girl, imma smack you if you don't get your working tush down here now." Lanie's voice spoke.

"I...I'm just really busy with this case...I don't think I'll be able to make it."

"Oh come on, Ryan and Esposito are just as busy with the case as you, and they're here having a good time."

"But I..." Beckett started,

"Uh uh," Lanie interrupted, "You get down here, right now. Keep in mind, it's your employers party. It'll make him happier with you to slack with your job right now than to work overtime."

"Ughh." Beckett whined, standing up from the desk and grabbing her jacket off from the back of the desk. "Fine. Have it your way. I'll be there in 20." She then flipped her phone shut, and headed to the elevator, pressing the down button and waiting impatiently.

20 minutes later, she pulled her car into the Montgomery's driveway. The lights shined brightly inside, although she could see through the windows to the majority of the party huddled around in the backyard. She walked around the side of the house and quietly joined the group she found Lanie Ryan and Esposito standing in.

"Wow, I must say, I kind of expected you to not show up." Lanie said, eyeing Kate suspiciously.

The group talked for a while with some others from the Twelfth. The captain joined them after a while, expressing his gratitude to Kate for getting out of the precinct.

At 10:00 the party went into the front yard, where lots if blankets and lawn chairs had appeared since Kate had arrived. Everybody took seats around the yard just as the colorful explosions started to erupt in the sky. The Captain had been right about the great view of them from his house.

Beckett, however, wasn't near as interested in the fireworks as everyone else.

She was thinking about a conversation she had had with Castle a while ago...where he had been explaining all the glories of fireworks. Her throat tightened up a little at the thought of him and Gina snuggled up all nice and cozy watching the show together. Unfortunately (although not all they surprising) Lanie recognized the change in her friends behavior.

"Come on, girl. Stop thinking about writer boy and just do something about it already!"

"How did you know I-" Beckett started, but was cut short by Lanie's knowing look. She decided to use a different approach to respond,

"Well, it's not like there's anything I can do. Not when he's got Gina up there..."

"That's it." Lanie said, grabbing Kate's handing and pulling her up with her. "You and me are going to go get your man back." She dragged them over to the Captain, apologizing for needed to leave early and  
saying their goodbyes, and Lanie instructed Kate to drive back to her apartment.

Lanie followed her there, and walked straight to her bedroom as soon as she unlocked the door.

"Lanie," Kate said, "What on earth are you doing?"

"Packing your bags." Lanie told her, grabbing a duffel bag from under her bed and starting the throw things from the closet into it.

"Remember the time that one officer from the Hamptons came to the precinct to examine how we do things?" Kate's eyes widened a little as she realized what Lanie was planning, "And the little weirdo offered that you could come and see how they ran their place whenever you wanted? Well...you're about to take up that offer." Lanie grabbed a skimpy bikini out of Kate's drawer and throw it into the bag, causing Kate to turn a little red and grab it back out.

"Lanie! I...I can't just show up. And either way, I would be all wrapped up at their department and then..."

"Wrong, because after you 'call' every hotel in town, there will be absolutely no open rooms, so you will be forced to ask a friend for a temporary boarding deal."

Lanie smiled at her, and Kate couldn't help but grin a little at the plan.

"But, I still don't think I'd be able to just show up at his doorstep with my bags..."

"He did invite you, remember? It's not like he's just going to throw you out on the streets...especially when there's an open invitation hanging over you."

"What if he and Gina are all...?"

"Kate," Lanie sighed, "She's an ex for a reason. I'd be willing to bet he's already kicked her out...let alone still have her on his good side."

The two shared a long gaze, before they both turned and started going about their businesses. Lanie packing clothes and Kate searching for the number of the officer at the Hampton police station.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Reveiws are pretty much amazing …just saying :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

"Hi, this is Kate Beckett, NYPD, can I please speak to Harold Arnold?"

"sure, just a moment please." A nasally voice on the other end of the line said.

"Hello?" A bright and happy female voice spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kate said, "I was supposed to be connected to Harold Arnold..."

"Harold transferred about three months ago...I'm his replacement, Amanda Shane. Is there a problem?"

"No, I...a while ago Mr. Arnold offered me to shadow...you know, I'm sorry for the mistake. Nice talking to you-"

"Wait, no. If you wanted to cone spend some time here, I mean, it's absolutely no problem."

"If you're sure..." Beckett said cautiously.

"Totally...when should we expect you?"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"I don't think I can do this, Lanie..." Kate told her friend nervously. The two sat in a stalling car in the street outside Castle's beach house.

"You can, and you will." Lanie told her, "And you'd better go soon, or someone will realize how long we've been sitting out here. Just remember, you couldn't find _any_ open hotels, and it's too last minute to cancel on the department..so your desperate."

"Lanie..." She started

"No. Go, now." Lanie said, reaching over Kate and opening the door.

"Wait! Lanie! Stop it!" Kate protested as she was pushed out of the car, her bags being thrown to her feet. The car started and started to move.

"Good luck! Have fun! Love ya!" Lanie yelled out the window, leaving Kate standing on the curb, shaking slightly.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her breathing. Then, she grabbed her bags and strode up the walkway, putting on an act of completely fake confidence.

She rang the doorbell as soon as she got to the door, her actions moving impossibly faster than her thoughts.

"Coming, coming," she heard his voice from inside. And with that, she lost all of her guts. Her breath got shaky and she was just about to run when she heard the door crack open. At his shocked expression, she reconstructed her poker face and took a deep breath.

"Beckett?" Castle asked incredulously, "Wha-What are you doing here? And...why do you have bags?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I agreed to shadow the Hampton homicide department, and didn't expect it to be this crowded up here. I went to every hotel...but they're all booked." She shrugged nonchalantly, trying to keep up her act, "what can I say, I'm desperate."

"Well, my invitation is still very open for you," Castle said, grinning and stepping aside so he could gesture her in, "Welcome to Chateau Castle"

Beckett stepped into the house, stopping just a little past the doorway and taking in her surroundings. The house was indeed, spectacular...in every way. And, there was no sign of Gina...which was definitely a plus.

"May I take your bags, m'lady?" Castle said walking up behind her. She just nodded, following behind him up to the room that he chose for her. "This is where you can stay...the bathroom is through those doors, I'll get some fresh towels put in ASAP...I'll go downstairs and leave you here to get comfortable. Make yourself at home." He said happily, bowing out of the room theatrically.

The first thing she did when she was sure she was alone was whip out her cell phone. She had already gotten seven texts from Lanie. She sent but one text in reply: _step one= success. :)_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

She walked down the stairs slowly, scanning the large and open living room for Castle. She saw him sitting on a dining table, facing the opposite way from her and gazing out into the ocean. His laptop sat open in front of him, the cursor blinking on a blank word document. She walked up behind him and rested her hand on the back of his chair.

"So," she said, " How's the writing going?" He jumped a little at her voice, looking up and smiling,

"Well..." he said, "Its...going."

"That doesn't sound too positive..." She said with a chuckle. She pushed his hand off the mouse and clicked on the other open and minimized word document; the previous chapter. She skimmed the first few paragraphs, before sitting down in the chair next to him with an eyebrow raised and eyeing him suspiciously. "Tell me...who, exactly, is 'Schlemming'?"

"He..." Castle said slowly, "is probably my least favorite character...and is currently the main cause for my writers block." Beckett just smiled, standing up and walking over to see what books he had on his bookshelf.

"So..." she said quietly, "where's Gina?"

"Out with her friends..." Castle said, turning to face her with a questioning look on his face, "Why? Is that a hint of _jealousy_ I hear, Detective?"

"what? No!" she said a little bit too quickly, "I just...figured she would be here with you."

"Nah, the only reason she even came was so that she could make sure I was working..." he said, "What about Demming? I would have thought the two of you would be spending the holiday together."

"Oh, I, um...we aren't together anymore..."

"Really?" he asked with wide eyes.

"Really." she responded with a small smirk on her face, "well, I think I'm going to go hit the hay. Who knows what the Hamptons will have in store for me tomorrow."

With that, she retreated upstairs to her designated room, hoping she would be able to get even a little sleep for the night.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

She woke up before he did, and tiptoed through the house and out the front door. The station, as Lanie had pointed out to her, was a walking distance away from Castle's place, so she just headed out on foot. On the way, she stopped at a coffee shop, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the coffee she got was actually pretty good.

Once at the station, she signed herself in at the front desk, and the receptionist gave her directions to their homicide department.

"You must be Detective Beckett," A happy looking girl said when Kate entered the room, "I'm Amanda Shane, Harold's replacement."

"Nice to meet you," Kate said, shaking her hand, "But please, call me Kate."

"Only if you call me Amanda," The girl said with a grin. Then, she led Kate over to a large table and showed her information they had on a murder they were currently working on.

A few hours later, Amanda led Kate into the break room, where they sat down with coffees (which where nowheres near as good as the ones back at the twelfth,) and started to talk.

"So," Amanda started, "What made you finally decide to come down here? Hasn't it been like…almost a year since Harold was down at your place?"

"Yah…" Kate said, looking down at you coffee and trying to keep her face casual, "I just figured…its summer, and so if I'm going to be at work, I might as well shake it up a little."

"You make it sound like there's more to it than that…" Amanda said, looking at her with one eyebrow raised. Beckett just shrugged, looking a little sheepish, "It doesn't have anything to do with Richard Castle, does it? I know he lives around here…and aren't you his muse?" Beckett looked up at her with wide eyes, shocked that she could catch on that quickly.

"Jeeze…you must be a really good detective." Kate said with a smile. Then, for the next half hour, Amanda pushed details out of Kate about what her story was, and she decided that Amanda was somebody that she definitely could get along well with.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…


	3. Chapter 3

_**Not mine… :(**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Good luck with you know who!" Amanda said, a large grin stretching across her face.

With Kate's help, Amanda and her team had wrapped up the murder, and Amanda had promised to call Kate when they had received a new case.

Now, was going to be the hard part. Beckett walked home slowly, chewing on her lip nervously the majority of the time. As she approached the house, she took a deep breath, but her hand froze mid-reach to the door handle.

From inside of the house, she heard two angry voices. One, was easily recognizable as Castle's, and the other, she guessed, was Gina. She couldn't make out their words, but she figured it would be wise not to walk in on them. Instead, she walked around the house and went to sit on the beach, kicking off her shoes and watching the waves roll into the shore. On the beach, she could barely make out the loud voices echoing from inside the house, but was able to tell when they abruptly stopped.

She stood up, and made her way over to the backdoor. Once inside, she didn't see anybody around, and was just walking over to the kitchen for a glass of water when she froze, and felt the color drain quickly from her face. Loud squeaking noises were suddenly piercing the calm in the house, coming from right about where Castle's room was upstairs.

Beckett became flustered quickly. She tried to set her water glass down on the table, but it just ended up flat on the floor, sending water and shards of glass all over the floor. She groaned, grabbing a broom and dustpan from the side of the refrigerator, and started to sweep up the mess, before the noises protruding from upstairs got to be too much for her to bear, and she just dropped everything and walked quickly (and clumsily) out of the room.

However, before she could escape, something caught her attention. Behind the dining room table, a small pool of blood was forming out of a large, body shaped lump.

Beckett immediately went into detective mode, reaching for the gun she didn't have with her. She snuck around the table quickly, only dropping her guard when she saw Castle's face.

"Castle!" She yelled, running over to him just in time to see him being roused into consciousness.

"Beckett?" He said drowsily, rubbing his head, "What happened?"

"You tell me…" She said with a relieved chuckle. Then, she went to the kitchen to get him a towel to hold on the wound on the back of his head. "Come on…I'll drive you to the hospital to get that checked out."

"But I don't wanna," He whined, and then realization hit him as he looked around the room, "Wait…where's Gina?"

"Upstairs…" Beckett said cringing, "I heard you guys fighting…what was that all about?"

"Ugh," Castle groaned at them memory, "She brought some guy home and was all drunk…I told her he couldn't stay here and she got all mad that I was allowed to have a guest and she wasn't…I dunno, I guess she hit me with something then."

"Hmm…" Beckett said, whipping out her phone, "Go get in the car, I'll be right there."

'_**Tell me, what are the charges for hitting a famous novelist until he was knocked out and bloody?**__' _She wrote in a text, then chose Amanda's name in her contacts and his send.

'_**Oh God, What did you DO?**__' _Amanda replied a minute later.

'_**No no no no! Not ME…Gina knocked Castle out.**__' _Beckett sent, laughing at the misunderstanding.

'_**Oh…haha, well…I could send somebody over there and get her detained for a while for assault…and I'm sure there would be some charge involved.**__' _Amanda texted back. Beckett sent back her thanks, and then headed out to the car where Castle was waiting in the passenger seat with the towel pressed to the side of his head.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Castle didn't need stitches, which he was very grateful for (he didn't want a big bald spot on his head), but he ended up having a slight concussion, and the doctor advised him to stay in bed and take it easy for about a week.

Beckett drove them back to the house, and she was happy to see that they got there just in time to see Gina being taken out into the cop car parked outside, glaring in the direction of Castle.

"Hey, Kate!" Beckett and Castle spun around to see Amanda running towards them.

"Hey Amanda," Kate greeted her, "Castle, this is Detective Amanda Shane from the Hampton homicide department."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Castle," Amanda said happily, shaking his hand.

"Please, call me Rick. I've already got one detective who refuses to be on a first name basis." He said, looking at Kate jokingly. Amanda just smiled and gave Kate a knowing look.

"Well, I've got to get back to the station…we just got called in with a new case." Amanda said, then turned to Kate, "You wanna come?"

"Sure," Beckett said, "You and your head going to be alright, Castle?" She ask jokingly,

"I've had worse," He stated simply.

Kate then said goodbye and followed Amanda to her car.

"What are you so smiley at?" Kate asked her when she saw the big grin plastered on Amanda's face.

"You guys would be adorable together," Amanda said shrugging. She looked over at Kate, noting that she didn't deny it.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"The vic's name was Brian Andrews…big basketball star at his college. He was found dangling by the neck from the hoop at the gym his team played their last game at. Bruises on his arms show what was probably a struggle…and there are marks on his neck that indicate he was strangled first." Amanda filled in Kate and the rest of her team.

"We'll go check with other members of the team…see what they know." Detectives Georgia Smith and Trisha Jenkins said. The two of them, Kate thought, strongly resembled what Ryan and Esposito would be like if they were women.

"We should check out the team they last played against…see if any of them have any history that could motivate them." Kate offered. Amanda nodded, and led them to her computer. They looked through files and found out that Brian's team had indeed won the night before he was killed, and saw that one of the members of the opposing them had been one of his high school rivals.

"Let's bring him in for questioning." Amanda said, walking out to her car.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

The case was already almost wrapped up. Brian's old rival turned out to have loads of motive to kill, and when Beckett left the station his story was quickly unraveling.

She found Castle sitting in a big armchair with his laptop sitting on his lap. He was typing away furiously, his eyebrows furrowed in a little in concentration. Then, he stopped, stared at the page for a moment, and deleted what looked like what must have been two or three full sized paragraphs of words. Beckett sat down on the couch on the opposite side of the room, and he finally realized her presence.

"Why hello there, Detective Beckett'" He said, flipping his laptop shut, "How is your case going?"

"Easily, I left just before the kid was about to confess." She shrugged, pulling her legs up under her, "How's the writing going?"

"I don't know…" Castle signed, opening his computer again, "Nikki's character is sort of bugging me."

"And why is that?" Beckett asked with a smirk, walking across the room and leaning on the back of his chair.

"Well, Schlemming was being a jerk…so she just left him. But now she is confusing the crap out of Rook…and even I can't figure out what's going on in her head." He explained.

Beckett leaned in closer so she could skim the last page of what he had been writing.

"Care to give some insight?" Castle asked her, "I'm sure you know her better than I do…"

"Well…" Beckett started, "I think that it's just time Nikki and Rook get together. It's obvious they kind of love each other, and the tension is just starting to get annoying. Your fans are just going to start thinking that they are too big of cowards to go after what they want."

Castle turned around to face her, but froze when he realized how close her face was to his. He could feel her breath on his face, and he was surprised that neither one of them pulled away. Beckett refused to move, and just tried to hold her breath and stared deep into his eyes.

Then, the doorbell rang. It echoed through the house, breaking the two from their trance.

"Uh…I, I ordered pizza…" Castle stuttered, jumping up and running across the house to go greet the delivery man.

Beckett watched him run away, then groaned and let her head fall slack into her hands.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Omg! You guys alllll rock socks! I signed into my email this morning to like…over 30 new messages. Alll fromm new story alerts and reviews and stuff :D You're all ahhhmazinngg!**_

_**Thanks a bunch everyonneee! :D**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ack…so I was all eager and stuff to get the last chapter posted…and didn't really read over it when I was done…then I finally read it after it was posted and I dunno…it seemed like it just moved really fast :/ bllaaa…oh well…too late now.**_

_**Ohhh and guess what? It's National Chocolate Day! Haha…I figured I'd take advantage of that in the story…it kinda seems like a day Castle would enjoy, does it not? :) **_

_**Welll…I went to the beach yesterday and built a pretty wicked sandcastle. That lovely little piece of art is mine…the completely awesomely amazing TV show, however, I sadly do not own aannnyyy part of. :(**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"You've gotta be kidding me." Amanda said. Kate had just spent the last hour helping her wrap up the paperwork from their murder, and the two were now enjoying the cup of coffee in the break room. They had just watched as the other group of detectives had received the newest case. "That's soo not cool…they _just_ finished one. And not even a pathetically simple one…like, a real one."

Kate knew the frustrating feeling of being case-less well…no work, and you were still expected to show up for a least a little while every day.

"Well…whatever" Amanda said, standing up and rinsing her empty coffee cup out. "We might as well head home…saying as there is nothing to do."

The two walked out of the station together, then said their goodbyes as Amanda went to her car and Kate began walk back to Castles place.

Around 10 minutes later, Beckett walked into the house, and heard a loud clanging of metal in the direction of the kitchen. She found Castle standing in a ridiculous 'Kiss the Cook' apron and covered in flower. The kitchen was cluttered with various cooking utensils and ingredients (a surprisingly large amount of them pertaining to chocolate).

"Castle…" She said slowly, "_What_ are you _doing_?"

"Baking!" He exclaimed happily, looking up at her and grinning, "It's National Chocolate Day, which is definitely reason enough to celebrate…with lots of chocolate."

"I see…" She said, walking up to the counter and looking at all of the different mixtures in pots and pans sitting about.

"Here, grab an apron and help!" Castle said, throwing an apron at her.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, putting the apron on and tying it in a bow on her back.

"Here, put some more of this in that mixing bowl by you…it doesn't look chocolaty enough." He said, grabbing a container of cocoa power and tossing it to her. The cover, however, was on tightly, and while flying through the air it hit a container of chocolate syrup and all of its cover flew off, sending all its powdery contents straight onto Beckett's face.

Castle heard her gasp and spun around quickly, cringing when he saw her cocoa covered head. She slowly lifter her arms to wipe the powder away from her eyes, before opening them and meeting his eyes, which were plastered open in shock.

"Oh my God… I'm sorry…that was a complete accident." He muttered, but she could hear in his voice how hard he was trying to hold back a smile.

She didn't answer, just took a few steps forward until she was directly in front of him. He hadn't seen her grab the chocolate syrup on her way over to him, and squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation for his punishment.

Instead of the pain or yelling he anticipated, he felt a cool gooey liquid slowly spreading over his head. He opened his eyes in shock, and saw her grinning face, emptying the contents of the syrup bottle over his head.

When it was empty, she dropped it on the floor next to them, wiping her hands off and turning around. She was about to get a towel to clean off her face, when she felt something hard crack on the back of her head. He ran her fingers through her hair and brought them back to see the sticky yellow and clear liquid of a raw egg, which now resided on the back of her head.

Her eyes flickered to the pan of still liquidy brownie batter awaiting its turn for the oven that was sitting next to her. All in one swift movement, she spun around, got a scoopful of the batter in her hands, and flung it at Castle. It hit him directly in the face.

They spent the next half hour emptying every container in the kitchen, dumping it on each other's heads, throwing it in their faces, and completely trashing their clothes and the once clean kitchen.

The ingredients were getting low, but Beckett was determined to win their food battle. She spotted a mixing bowl still full of egg yolks and other items behind Castle, and made a dash for it. However, instead of ducking under his arm and coming up on the opposite side like she was planning on doing, her foot hit a big pile of slippery batter laying on the floor, and she ended up falling flat on her back.

When she looked up, she saw a grinning Castle holding the bowl she had been aiming for, and slowly starting to tip it over her head. She flung her arm out so it hit him hard in the legs, and sent him down to the ground too. She grabbed the bowl full of batter from where it fell on the ground and proudly poured it over his head, before flopping tiredly down next to him.

After a few minutes of just laying there catching their breath, she felt a finger swipe her cheek. She turned her head and eyed Castle suspiciously. He was staring back at her, grinning, with one finger in his mouth.

"My, my, Detective, I do believe you taste much better than the brownies would have turned out." He said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and looked away, but was overly thankful that all of the food on her face would cover up just how much his comment had caused her to blush.

She sat up and looked around the kitchen-if you could even call the room that now.

"So…who's going to be sentenced to the clean up?" She asked him.

"You know…I promised myself a while back that I wouldn't get lazy and hire a maid to do all my work…but I think that we have reason enough to make an exception here…"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Aww…that was basically a really fun chapter to write :)**_

_**Hmm…this had made me really hungry for brownies :) I think I'll go get to that noww :)**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Bwahahaha…soooo many emails…I basically love you alllll :D**_

_**Gahh…alright soo I spent like…three hours laying awake in bed last night trying to think of what would happen in this chapter…haha…nothing amazingly awesome popped upp…so it may not be the worrlllddsss best chapter ever… :)**_

_**Ohhh and I was lookin at the Hamptons website today (we're goin there for vacation soooon :D) and its all grossly hot out on the east coast and stuff right now…and their headliner thing was "We're Having A Heat Wave!" …I kinda burst out laughing :D Perrffeecccttt way to make my dayyy :D**_

_**Notta minee**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Beckett was just getting out of the shower when she heard the doorbell ring downstairs. She could the shower in Castle's room still running, so she threw on a robe and grabbed a towel for her hair, then ran downstairs to answer the door.

"Hello, dear," The little maid said when Kate opened the door. The old woman was short and plump, and didn't wait for an invitation before she pushed her cart of cleaning supplies right inside the door. "Now where would you like me to start?"

"I think we just need your help in the kitchen…" Beckett told her, leading the way over to their battlefield.

"Oh my…" The little old woman muttered when she saw the mess.

"Yah…sorry" Beckett said, laughing nervously.

"Not to worry, deary. I've cleaned up my fair share of food fights in my time." The woman said, grabbing some supplies and entering the room. Kate barely heard her mumble under her breath as she walked away, "They're just normally the result of children…"

When she was sure the maid was all set, Beckett slowly backed away. Then, she turned and ran up the stairs, heading to her room so she could be dressed before Castle got out of the shower. As she turned the corner at the top of the stairs, however, she found herself turning straight into Castle, who was still dripping wet from his showers, and was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

She opened her mouth to apologize, but the words stuck in her throat. She had stuck her hands out when she hit him, and they were now resting on his perfectly toned chest.

"Beckett?" He said, breaking her from her trance. She dropped her hands quickly and took a few steps back. "I heard the doorbell…"

"Oh…uh, yah, it was just the maid." Beckett said, trying to ignore the thousands of butterflies that had suddenly appeared in her stomach.

"Ah…" He said, then raised one eyebrow at her, "You ok?"

"Yah…why wouldn't I be?" She said quickly, then walked around him quickly and shut herself in her room. She collapsed on the big fluffy bed, and got out her cell phone to send a text to Lanie.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Beckett was sitting in a large armchair reading a book, when Castle suddenly stood up from where he had been sitting at the kitchen table and writing. He came back a minute later holding a bottle of wine and two glasses, with a grin stretched across his face. She shot him a questioning look, but he just ignored it and proceeded to pour two glasses of the wine.

"A toast," He said proudly, handing her one of the glasses, "To the completion of Naked Heat."

"Really?" She said excitedly, setting her glass down on the table beside her and standing up, "It's finished?"

"Just sent it in to be edited!" He announced. "So…what do you say we go out for a celebratory dinner? My treat?"

"Sure, why not," She said smiling. Castle had completely expected her to turn him down, so he was pleasantly surprised when she walked past him to put on her shoes, then stood at the door and waited for him.

"So where are we going?" She asked him once they were in the car.

"Franks Pizza House," He announced happily, then gave a shrug "It's just a little place I discovered a while back. Not many people know about…so I usually don't get bothered that much."

They spent the rest of the ride there in comfortable silence. Kate understood why the little, homey looking restaurant wasn't very popular, since it was so far off the main roads.

"Richard!" An fragile looking old man called, shaking both Castle and Beckett's hands enthusiastically, "And his lovely lady!" At his second comment, Beckett shot Castle a questioning look, to which Castle just responded with a clueless shrug of his shoulders.

The man, Frank, led the two over to a small table in the back of the sitting room.

"So, I have to ask," Frank said when the two had sat down and gotten comfortable, "The article only just came out…this must be one of your first dates?"

Castle and Beckett exchanged a shocked look, then Beckett said, "Oh we…this isn't a date…"

"What article?" Castle added incredulously. Frank held up a finger, then rushed into the kitchen. He came back a minute later with a magazine in hand, folded open to a page showing a picture of Castle and Beckett sitting on Castles back patio and eating breakfast. The article accompanying it explained that the two were spending the summer together as a couple, and it expressed its concern for how the next Nikki Heat books would come out after their new 'development'.

Beckett groaned and dropped her head into her hands, while Castle reread the article for a second and a third time.

"Hey," Castle said when Frank walked away, "At least it's a good picture of us."

"You always manage to find the good in things, don't you Castle?" Beckett said, allowing the corners of her lips to turn up a little.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

The little restaurant had gotten surprisingly full since they had arrived. There were at least three full groups waiting in the doorway for seats, and Castle had already been asked for autographs by insane girls five times, much to Beckett's entertainment.

When they were done eating, Beckett excused herself to the bathroom before they left. On her way back to the table, she found Castle standing at the bar talking with Frank.

"Look," He said grimly, gesturing to the front window, "We've got company."

She felt her stomach flip nervously as her eyes adjusted and she saw the crowd of people standing around the entrance to the restaurant.

"What are we going to do?" She asked, turning to face him.

"Well…Option one, Frank offered us the place to hide out in until they left, but then we'd have to deal with _them_." He said, looking over at the huddle of teenage girls all staring at Castle with obsessive eyes, "Option two…we could jump out a window and try to escape like ninjas. Or, Option three, we could just give them what they're looking for…" He said, looking at her with a mischievous smile. "You know, test out our acting skills."

"Alright, Castle," Beckett said, running her fingers through her hair, then hooked her arm through Castle's, "Maybe we can freak out the guys back at the precinct."

Castle smiled, then strided forward towards the door with her still on his arm. As soon as the cool air hit them, the air lit up in camera flashes. Beckett followed Castle's lead by taking as little notice to the people as possible and just walking forward and only stopping when they would stubbornly refuse to move out of the way; he obviously knew how to deal with these paparazzi type better than she did.

The flashing didn't stop until they were in the car and driving away.

"Well that was fun, nice acting" Castle said happily when they were safely away from the crowds, "Who knows, maybe you could end up playing Nikki Heat in the movie."

"I dunno," Beckett said with a shrug, "I guess it was just the part I was made to play."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Sniffle sniffle. Hehe…yahhpppp**_

_**Alright…so am I the only one going into complete Castle withdrawal? Thank God for Wednesday reruns…but they don't fill the hole! D: sniffle… haha…sorry just had to express my sadness to ssoommeeebbooodddyyy :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Ohh noooeeesss! :O …I have nooo idea whats gonna happen in this chapterrr…. O.o Aaannnddd usually I already have the new chapter written and posted by this time in the day… D: sooo…Im just gonna start…and see what happens I suppose… :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"_What_ is _this_?" Amanda exclaimed, shoving a magazine article right into Kate's face as soon as she entered the room. Her eyes quickly adjusted and she slowly took in the large picture of her and Castle, looking into each other's eyes, and smiling, with their arms linked.

"Wow…that was quick…" She stated, letting out a small laugh.

"What?" Amanda said impatiently, "You still didn't answer my question! What happened?"

"Nothing," Kate said with a sigh, "Castle finished his book, so we went out for a celebratory dinner. Somebody must have tipped off the press that we were there though, and we got cornered. Castle suggested we just play the part and give them what they were looking for…so that's what we did."

"So it was all an act?" Amanda asked, slumping down in her chair. Then, at Beckett's nod, added, "Well that really sucks."

"Tell me about it," Kate said.

Amanda then filled Kate in on their newest case. It seemed like one that should have been easy enough to solve, it was messily covered up, and they had several possible killers almost immediately. However, by the end of the day, almost every single lead had come up straight to a dead end.

"What a crappy day." Amanda said as the two exited the building.

"Well," Kate said, "The first day of a new case usually is."

"Yah…but usually you get _something_ after a few hours." Amanda said grumpily, "We've had _nothing_ with this one _all freakin' day_!"

"Something will turn up tomorrow…it always does eventually." Kate told her.

"Yah…hopefully." Amanda said to her, before turning her way down the street and waving back at Kate, "Seeya tomorrow."

"Bye," Kate said. She was looking forward to the peaceful walk home to unwind after the stressful day, but almost immediately after she said goodbye to Amanda, her phone started to ring.

"Beckett," She sighed into it.

"When were you plannin' on telling us about you and Writer Boy?" She heard Lanie say into the phone impatiently.

"I-" Beckett started,

"Whoops, careful what you say. You're on speaker," Lanie interrupted.

"Who else is there?" Beckett asked curiously.

"Ryan and Espo," Lanie said.

"And the Captains door is open…so there is a very good chance he's listening in too." Ryan added.

"Right…" Beckett said, "Well first of all, nothing is going on. Somebody tipped off the press that we were at a restaurant, and so we just decided to give them what they wanted."

"Why didn't you walk out serperately? Try to end the rumors?" Esposito spoke, the smile evident in his voice.

"I…well, I don't know…it seemed like a better idea at the time…" Beckett said nervously.

"Right…" She heard Ryan and Esposito say at the same time.

"Alright…I took you off speaker." Lanie said after a little pause, "Now, what really happened?"

"What makes you think I was lying?" Beckett asked her suspiciously, "We just went out for dinner and then had to find the easiest way to go out of the place."

"Well…" Lanie said, obviously disappointed, "You better get a move on it, girl. The Hampton police aren't gonna keep you there forever."

"Yah…I know." Beckett sighed. "I'm working on it."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Whoazaa…short chapter much? Hahaha…well. I thought I was like…a full page ahead of where I really am…then I started to wrap it up and saw I was only at like 600 words… D: **_

_**Ouch….**_

_**Soo…instead of posting this when it's like…reeeaaalllllyyy short I figured I'd just write a part two! Let's call this little note an intermission! Cue music!**_

_**Doo doo doo doodle dee daaa…dum**_

_**Ok…now that's that over with. :) **_

_**Noowww for the second part…I kinda just realized that the story has basically only been following Beckett…soooo thiss part is going to show part of whats goin on with Castle when she's not with him :)**_

_**Heerrrreee weee goooo! Chapter 6, part two! Ennjjjoooyyyy**_

_**:D**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Castle had spent most of his morning and afternoon on the web. His fan sites were just buzzing with news about him and Beckett. The degree of the rumors stretched from just simply stating the fact that it seems as though the two of them were officially now a couple, to one that said that a reliable source had told them that she was knocked up and they were planning to wed within the month.

It was times like this where he really just wished he could trace the stories back to see where they got started.

Just then, his computer let out a beep. A small box appeared in the corner of the screen announcing that he had: '_One new message from Alexis Castle'_

A smile stretched across his face as his pulled up his email. His smile switched from being happy to just amused as he read what his daughter had written to him.

_Dad,_

_When were you planning on telling me about you and Detective Beckett? Ahhh! This is great! I was hoping you were talking about her when you told me you had invited someone special! :)_

_They're giving us this weekend to visit family, and a new friend of mine's family lives near there…they said they'd give me a ride to come visit you! _

_Im so excited! See you in two days! :D_

Castles smile started to fade a little with every word he read. She was so excited that him and Beckett were together…how was he going to break it to her that it was only an act?

A shrill ringing from the dining room table broke him from his train of thought. He read the caller ID and internally groaned.

"Mother," He greeted when he pressed answer.

"Richard, dear," She said happily, "I just received an email from Alexis! I'm so very happy for you and Kate."

"Mother," He sighed, "Beckett and I aren't together."

"What?" She asked, "But…what about the picture of you two coming out of that little pizza joint?"

"It was an act," Castle explained, "We wanted to get out of the press as quickly as possible."

"I see…" she said, "How on earth do you plan on telling that to Alexis? She sounded so very happy…and she said she was coming up to see you this weekend?"

"Yah, I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet…" Castle sighed.

"Well, I've got to go, dear. Good luck with Alexis."

"Yah…thanks. Bye," Castle said, then hit the 'end' button on his phone.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ehh, still not even that long of a chapter…oh well, at least it's better than it was before :)**_

_**Did you knowww…today is THE ONLY July 9**__**th**__** 2010 there will EVER be EVER? Crraazzzyyy :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Helloo Dearest readerrsss! I would just like to say I love you all! :D Your reviews are oh so very inspiring! And they basically make my day! Aannnddd this story is on 46 story alerts! Holy amazingggg! :D Once agaaiiinnnn, you all ROCK!**_

_**Ohhh okk andd sooooo there were a few of you who were asking if I'd do more with like…what's happening with Castle instead of Beckett…sooo in this chapterrr I'm just going to try to do a little of both? I don't know how that'll work…sooo I figured I'd start with this chapter when they're together almost the whole time anyway…so it won't even make that much of a difference :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Beckett got back to the house to find a very dazed looking Castle staring blankly at his computer screen.

"Hey," She said to him, watching as he snapped out of it and recognized her presence, "What's wrong?"

"I…nothing. It's just that…Alexis is coming over this weekend." He said.

"That's great!" Beckett said, then, at his less-than-enthusiastic expression, added, "Isn't it?"

"Well yah, it's awesome…but, we may have to keep up our act _inside_ the house as well, for a few days." He said, looking up at her and taking in her reaction.

"Why?" She asked, confused.

"Well…Alexis sent me an email about how excited she was that we were…together. And…I…she sounded so happy…I couldn't think of any way to break it to her." Castle said.

"Ah…" Beckett stated, not knowing what else to say.

"You don't mind, do you?" Castle asked, still looking up at her, "I'll find a way to tell her in the fall…when we're back at home. But she's only going to be here for the weekend, and I don't want her to be all glum…"

"No, of course I don't mind." She said, refusing to look into his eyes. She didn't mind at all…in fact, she was crazy excited. She had enjoyed _acting_ the part of his date so much the night before, and now she'd get to do it for a full weekend. She was just worried he'd be able to read her too well and notice how much of it was real for her.

She shoved her thoughts out of her head, let a smile form on her face and finally looked at him. He was grinning happily at her, and she felt her stomach flutter slightly. Then, she realized, as excited as she was for the coming weekend, she also had a largely growing fear of how it would go….

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Dad!" She heard Alexis yell from the doorway. Castles face lit up at the sound of his daughter's voice and he bounded up from where he was sitting on the couch to greet her at the door. Beckett followed after him a few seconds later, watching them embrace in a hug. She liked seeing Castle in 'Dad-mode'…it was sort of sweet.

"And Detective Beckett!" Alexis said, running over to her and giving her a hug just as enthusiastically as she had with her dad.

"Alexis," Kate said, "Please, call me Kate."

"Alright, Kate," Alexis said smiling, then turned to her dad, "I'm going to go put my stuff upstairs." Then, she grabbed her stuff and ran around the corner and up the stairs.

Beckett then felt eyes boring into the side of her head. She turned, to see Castle staring at her and grinning. At the sound of Alexis' footsteps coming down the stairs, he grabbed her hand (which made her heart start doing little flips), and whispered under his breath to her, "You ready for this?" She looked back at him to see him waggling his eyebrows playfully at her. She just rolled her eyes and turned away from him, but nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Hey, Dad?" Alexis said, giving Castle and Beckett both questioning looks, "Why is all of Kate's things in the guest bedroom?"

Castle and Beckett exchanged nervous glances, but Beckett was the one to recover quickest.

"I've been keeping my things in there, because your father brought enough stuff here with him to last a lifetime, and I didn't want to crowd the floor." She said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"So," Alexis said happily, buying Kate's excuse, "What do you say we watch a movie before bed?"

"Sure!" Castle exclaimed, "Whatcha want to watch, kiddo?"

"Welllllll," Alexis said, "A friend of mine let me borrow their copy of the first season of Glee for the weekend, sooo I was thinking we could watch that."

"Of _course_!" Castle said, running into the living room and jumping over the back of the loveseat. Alexis ran upstairs to get the DVDs. Beckett walked slowly into the living room, glancing at Castle nervously. He just grinned and raised an eyebrow at her.

When Alexis came downstairs, she found Kate snuggled into her dad's side, with his arm around her.

"Aww," She said when she came into their view, "You guys are so cute together!"

Castle just grinned at his daughter, and Beckett did one of her signature eye rolls, but a small blush crept up along with it.

Alexis turned on the movie, turned off the light, and situated herself on the large armchair in the room. And, although it was the kind of show that Kate was sure she would have enjoyed, she had a hard time concentrating on anything other than how good it felt to have _his_ arms wrapped around her.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo...

"G'night dad," Alexis said sleepily to her dad, giving him a lazy one armed hug.

"Night kiddo," He said as she walked up the stairs. He stalled for a while downstairs, until he was sure Beckett would have been done getting ready for bed. When he finally went up to his room, he found the door cracked, and Beckett in the bathroom brushing her teeth.

"So," She said when she was done, "How're we going to do this?" She asked, gesturing to the bed.

"These," Castle said with a grin, pulling a stack of blankets out of a trunk at the foot of the bed. He then walked up to her slowly, until he was just a mere foot in front of her. She held her breath, not sure what he was planning on doing. After a minute of them standing like that, he slowly brought his hand up to his face, and put one finger on his nose. "Dibs not!" He said, suddenly playfully, then flung himself onto the bed and grinned at her. Beckett let out her breath, rolled her eyes at him, then made her way to where he had stacked the blankets on the floor and started making herself a bed.

While Castle was getting himself ready for bed in the bathroom, Kate grabbed her cell phone and sent a text to both Amanda and Lanie about her current situation. They both responded sounding clearly amused.

After about 10 minutes, Castle came out of the bathroom, turned off the lights, climbed into his bed, and said goodnight to Kate.

She could not sleep, though. Her head was jammed with different thoughts, and, as much as she hated to admit it to herself, she was enjoying just listening to the sounds of Castle's breathing.

However, after what she guessed was a half hour of just laying on her back and staring at the ceiling, she heard the sudden noise of somebody humming _Defying Gravity…_one of the songs in the last episode of the show they had been watching.

"Castle!" She whispered, her voice breaking the silence, "Are you _humming_?"

"You're still awake?" He asked, sounding somewhat embarrassed, "I thought you were asleep already…"

"Nope…the show tunes are keeping me awake." She joked, laughing quietly to herself.

"Sorry! It just _won't_ get out of my head!" He said.

"You know the only way to get a song out of your head?" She asked.

"No…what?" He asked her.

"Listen to it, the whole way through." She told him, the corners of her lips turning up,

She heard the bed squeak a few times, then dull, thudding footsteps. Then, she saw Castle hovering over her, shirtless, and only in his…SpongeBob boxers. He held out his hand, then when she grabbed his he pulled her up next to him.

"Well, then," He said smiling, "I'm not going to re-watch the show on my own."

She followed him downstairs, where he restarted the episode they had last watched. They both sat on the loveseat again, though not close enough to be touching this time.

The episode ended, but neither of them moved. They ended up watching the show into the early morning, episode after episode. Before either of them had realized it, Kate had gravitated closer to Castle, and was resting her head on his shoulder. He put his hand over hers, and she felt herself slowly drifting into unconsciousness….

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Weellllllll that was fun! Hahaa dontcha alllll just llooovvvveee Glee? :D hehehe **_

_**Aaaannnnnddddd I felt like a creeeepo writing about Beckett just listening to Castles breathing…then I was going to delete it buuuuttt it reminded me toooo much of Edwardd from Twilighttt :) hehe…then I just couldn't do it. Not saying I like him…actually, I kinda sorta hate him…his brother is much more sexier :D :D :D**_

_**Well ok…off of that subject… :)**_

_**OH NO! I just do NOT know what I'm going to do with this story! :O I'm leaving for waterparrkkss on Sunday…so I won't be able to update for like a full week there…and then like basically right when I get back I'm leaving for two weeks in New York! And THEN im going to camp for a week…and then its SCHOOL ALREADY! NOOOO! :O I just don't KNOW what I'm going to dooooo! ACK! Ummm yahhh…so like one or two more chapterrsss…then there will be a rather large intermission…longer than the short little one the last chapter had :)**_

_**Oh gosh I'm worried…time for crazy speed writing? Haha…I wish. My mom thinks I've been spending alllll this time on Microsoft Word writing a novel though :) haha…right…. I wish :) I've gotta keep it inconspicuous!**_

_**Haha…I'm rambling realllllyyyy bad! Sorry 'bout that everybody! I'll stop now!**_

_**There'll be another chapter tomorrow (I THINK!) soo not to worry…yet :O**_

_**Toodle-oooo! :D**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Oh Goodness…Time for speed writing! :D I promised you all a chapter for today…aannnddd my mother just decided that we are all going boating iiinnnn…1 and a half hours! And I have nooo idea what to write about! Grrr…game face! :D**_

_**Hmmm, alsooo it seems as though I haven't put a disclaimer in a while. You know I was thinking…are they REALLY all that important? I mean…it's a fanfiction website…wouldn't those things only matter when somebody would like…publish a book on something? I dunno…I just think that its suuppperrr pointless to have to do it like every chapter…oh welllll, everyone else is doing it…better be safe than sorrryyyy! **_

_**Am I going to get in trouble for posting that little tidbit? I hope not… gulp… O.o **_

_**Tis'nt mine! D:**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Daadddd!" A voice called, intruding into Beckett's sleep, "Ohh daddd, are you up yet?"

Then, a sudden thudding of footsteps on the stairs had her bolting upright in her makeshift bed. Alexis called for her dad again, and there was a knocking on the bedroom door.

Beckett jumped up quickly, grabbing all of the blankets and the pillow she had been sleeping on and stuffing them under the bed. Then, just as she heard the door crack open slowly, she lept into the bed beside Castle and weaseled her way under the covers, before shutting her eyes and pretending to still be in a deep sleep.

"Dad?" Alexis said, and Beckett heard Castle groan sleepily in response, "Hey, I'm going out to breakfast with Lauren's family. I'll be back around noon."

Then, Kate heard footsteps again and the door shut. Castle started moving around, and just as she was about to get out of the bed, he rolled over practically right on top of her. His eyes snapped open, and when he saw he jumped.

"Beckett?" He asked, then, after the initial shock wore off he grinned playfully at her, "Well…you know, if you needed a sleeping buddy, you could have just asked."

"Not really, Castle, I'm just keeping our cover with Alexis." She said, then added, "and could you please move? You're kind of suffocating me."

"Oh…sorry," He said, rolling over to the other side of the bed.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Castle and Beckett were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. He was telling her about an upcoming reading of Naked Heat that he wanted her to go to.

The doorbell then rang, and Castle went to answer it, mumbling grumpily about who would be ringing the doorbell this early.

"Mother?" He asked, surprised, when he opened the door.

"Hello darling," She said, then walked into the house and setting her purse down on the kitchen table by where Beckett was sitting, "Why hello, Detective Beckett, how are you this morning?"

"Great, thanks…" Kate said, looking over to Castle who was standing on the opposite side of the room now.

"What are you doing here?" Castle asked her.

"Does a mother need an explanation to come visit her son?" Martha asked, but then said, "And besides, this may be the only chance I get to see Alexis over the summer. Where is she?"

"She went with a friend out to breakfast, said she'd be back around noon." Castle told her.

"I see…" his mother replied, then looked at Beckett, then back at Castle again, "How did she take the news?"

"Uh…we didn't really tell her yet…" Castle said, looking nervously at Beckett.

"You didn't tell her?" Martha asked, obviously confused, "Well why didn't you do that?"

"Well…she just sounded so happy…and I didn't want to put a damper on the few days that she is here." Castle said, "So…we're just…acting."

"You're…acting? Well of course, that's the only obvious answer." Martha said sarcastically. She then went into the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of liquor. Castle shot her a disapproving look, which she only ignored.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Gram!" Alexis called when she came home and saw Martha. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were coming back for a while, so I came in so see you, darling." Martha said, wrapping Alexis in a hug.

"So, what do you want to do today, kiddo?" Castle asked Alexis.

"Well," Alexis said, drawing out the word, "I was thinking it would be nice to go swimming before I have to go back…"

"I don't think that'll be happening…" Martha said, looking out the window to see all the big dark storm clouds moving in.

"Well…" Alexis said, looking up at the dark sky and grinning, "Then I think it's time to break out to rain boots…"

Castle grinned mischievously and ran out of the room. He came back a few minutes later with four pairs of puddle jumping boots. He handed a pair to Alexis, who started putting them on immediately, a pair to Beckett, who just looked suspicious about it, and tried to give a pair to Martha.

"No, not for me dear," She said, pushing the boots away, "I don't have a change of clothes and don't feel like driving home wet."

Alexis just rolled her eyes, and waited by the door while Castle waited for Beckett to finish reluctantly putting on the boots. As if on cue, right when she stood up with the boots on, a straight downfall of rain started. Castle grabbed her hand and grinned mischievously at her.

"You ready, _sweety_?" He said.

"You bet, _honey_." She said with a sly grin, then walked with him out into the rain.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

After a while of being out in the rain, Castle snuck back inside while Beckett and Alexis were racing around in the shallow water and splashing each other.

He found that Martha had put towels by the door, and grabbed one and went to sit next to her in the kitchen, where she had been watching them play around.

"Thanks for putting the towels out," Castle said as he pulled out a chair next to her and sat down.

"It's no problem, dear." She said, but looked like she was deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked her.

"Tell me…why didn't you just tell Alexis that you and Kate weren't together? She's always understood the other stories that the press comes up with…" Martha said, still staring blankly out the window.

"Because she seemed too happy…I didn't want to disappoint her. I already told you that." Castle said.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" His mother asked, turning her head and finally looked at him. Then, when he didn't respond, she continued, "You know, people change when they act. Their voices change, their expressions are different…and if you know what to look for, it's just obvious to see what's the real them, and what's their acting part."

"And?" Castle asked, not understand where the conversation was going.

"You say that you and Kate are acting the part. But neither of you are changing. It's natural." She said with a shrug. Castle didn't respond, he just looked back out at his daughter and "girlfriend" playing in the rain, and smiled.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**DONE! AH! Hahaha…with 15 minutes to go! :D bwahahahahahahaha! Phew! I feel like I just like…ran a marathon. Hahahahaha :)**_

_**Ok…sooo, like…in the last chapter when Alexis was all confused that Beckett's stuff wasn't in Castle's room…and this one when they had to like be in the same room and stuff, I know like…saying as its everyone's impression that they like JUST got together …they wouldn't be expected to be sleeping in the same bed and stuff yet…but I just made it like that bbeeeccaauuuseee…wellll it was just more fun to write like that :)**_

_**Noww the question isss…when will the next chapter arrive? :O I have nooo idea…I'm thinking I'll be able to get one in tomorrow before I leave…but I really just don't knoww! D:**_

_**Adios Amigos! :D**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Oh goodness! I think this is it! Wrap it up with this chapter, then I won't have to worry about the giant gap until I can write again! D: **_

_**Oh goodness I don't want it to END! D: D: D: D: **_

_**Snifflee…ok…here we go… :(((**_

...ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo….

"You're leaving?" Amanda asked with wide eyes when Kate came into the station in the morning.

"I've still got a job back in New York…I can't stay here forever." Kate said.

"What about Castle?" Amanda asked, lowering her voice a little. Kate just shrugged sadly. "We'll keep in touch, though…wont we?"

"Course we will." Kate said, giving her a half smile, "Maybe you can come hang out at the precinct by us sometime."

"Alright…we're going to miss you around here, though." Amanda told her.

"I know. I'll miss you too." Kate said, giving Amanda a hug before she turned to leave.

"Bye, Kate!" Amanda called after her.

"Bye," She said back, then let the elevator take her down to the first floor, where she began her walk back to Castles.

Alexis had left two days ago with Martha, and ever since they had left, Castle had been acting weirdly. There had been multiple times already that Kate had caught him just staring at her…as though he was looking for something. However, every time she asked about it, he just blew it off.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Castle wasn't hanging around downstairs like she expected when she got back to the house. While she was in the kitchen getting a glass of water, she heard the stair creak. She turned around to go find out was Castle was up to, but before she could take even a step, she jumped about a foot into the air and her heart missed a beat or two.

Castle was standing less than a foot in front of her, grinning happily, and taking great amusement in how much he had startled her.

"Holy _crap_, Castle!" She said, catching her breath from the scare, "How the heck did you get there that quietly!"

"I dunno," He said laughing, "I just used my ninja powers."

"Oh, of course," She said, squeezing past him and walking into the living room.

"Are you _sure_ you have to leave?" Castle asked, plopping himself down on the couch next to Beckett, "It'll be so lonely here without you."

"Some of us actually have to show up to their jobs every day, Castle," She said jokingly, "Not just sleep in and sit on a computer in their pajamas all day."

"For your information, _Detective_, I do not write in my pajamas." Castle said, "It makes me feel lazy and not want to write. And also, if I sit around like a slob all day, what would happen whenever people would come to the door? It would ruin my reputation."

After he finished his little talk, the doorbell rang. Castle stood up, gestured to his clothes, then gave Beckett a _'see what I mean?_' look. She sighed and looked down at the magazine she was holding while he went to answer the door.

"Why Doctor Parish," Castle said happily, "What a pleasant surprise."

"Hey, Castle," Lanie greeted him, "Is Kate around?" Just as she said that, Beckett walked into the room, having heard Lanie's voice.

"Hey, Lanie." She said, "I thought you were coming later?"

"I was going to, but you've got a new case, and the Captain sent me over to get you sooner so you could get to work on it." She informed her.

"Oh…well, I haven't packed yet." Beckett said, "Just give me a minute…"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Once up in the guest bedroom that still held all of Beckett's clothes and bags, Kate could feel Lanie's presence hovering in the doorway.

"What, Lanie?" She asked as she turned around to face a disapproving looking Lanie.

"You've spent _nights_ in this Writer Boy's house…two of which the two of you spent in the _same bedroom_. And neither of you have made a move yet? I think you know _what_." Lanie said.

"I tried, Lanie. But it just didn't work, alright?" Kate tried to explain, turning around and shoving loose articles of clothing into her suitcase.

"You're actually going to leave without doing _anything_?" Lanie said disbelievingly, "Come on, Kate. You came here to start something with him…if you leave without anything you'll only be pushing _him_ into thinking that you don't want anything to do with him."

Kate ignored her, standing up and going into the bathroom to grab her things from in there. She came back into the room and piled them on top of the clothes tossed messily into the bag, then she forced the zipper shut. She was about to leave the room before Lanie stuck out her arm and stopped her.

"Just, do _something_ before you go. I'll take this and leave you alone." Lanie said, grabbing Beckett's bag and leaving the room.

Beckett walked down the stairs and found Lanie just saying goodbye to Castle at the front door. Lanie looked over and shot Beckett a meaningful look before shutting the door behind her and heading out to the car.

"Well, I guess this is it." Castle said when he realized the Beckett was coming up behind him.

"I guess so." Beckett said, "You could always come back early, though. We could use some of your crazy theories back at the precinct. It was getting pretty boring there for a while without you."

"Maybe," Castle said, "Black Pawn wants me to get started on the next Nikki Heat though, saying as I've already proved myself to be bad about deadlines. I figured I'd just get started on that while I'm still out here."

"I see…" She said, "Any idea what the next one will be called yet?"

"I was thinking _In Heat_" Castle grinned mischievously, "What do you think?"

"You'd better not." Beckett warned him, shooting him a warning glare. He just laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not entirely my decision, you know." He told her. Instead of threatening him like she would have liked to, she decided to drop it and change the subject.

"Thanks for letting me stay here." She said, smiling at him.

"Thanks for the company." He said back, holding his hand out.

Her heart started thumping as she stared at his waiting hand. So, they would shake hands, say goodbye, then everything would be back to normal again in the Fall when he came back? She didn't exactly like the sound of that. Her thoughts drifted back to what Lanie had said while she was still packing. She bit her lip nervously and looked up into his eyes. He looked extremely confused, still holding his hand out and waiting awkwardly. She waited for his hand to drop before stepping closer to him. He glanced around nervously, but before he had a chance to talk, she wrapped her arms around the back of his head, closed her eyes, and kissed him.

The kiss didn't last too long, but it was full of emotion and meaning. She pulled away first, backing away and smiling at the way he just stood there and stared at her with his mouth opened slightly in shock.

"Well, Castle, I guess I'll see you in the fall." She said, before opening the door and walking quickly to Lanies car, leaving a thoroughly stunned and confused Castle standing in her wake.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**FIN! **_

_**Oh goooddddnnneeesssss! Its OVER! Oh cry, oh sob. How will I SURVIVE?**_

_**Sniffle. Sniffle sniffle.**_

_**BBBUUUUTTTTTT while debating how to end this I had a brilliant little idea…SEQUAL! :D**_

_**Hmmm…..noww the question isss, should I do it or shouldn't I? hmmm  
I suppose it would be up to you all! The story's review rates have been goin doowwwnnn…sooo I don't know if its cuz they story is getting crappppy, orrr if its just cuz peoples don't feel like reviewing. Soooo I neeeed EVERYBODY who reads this to review if I should continue it or not :D …cuz I kinda wannnaaa :) but not if its not gonna be liked….**_

_**Farewell all! **_


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